3 hurt as plane skids off runway at Russian airport

Passengers were forced to use the emergency slides after the plane came off the end of the runway. Pic: Twitter

By

AFP

PublishedWednesday, January 04, 2017

A Russian passenger plane skidded off the runway after landing in snowy conditions at Kaliningrad airport, authorities said Wednesday, with three people suffering minor injuries.

The Airbus A320 belonging to Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot, carrying 167 passengers from Moscow, "skid off the runway after landing" late Tuesday, the local branch of the emergencies ministry said in a statement.

Three passengers sought medical assistance following the incident, Russian state media quoted local investigators as saying.

Investigators said they were questioning witnesses and inspecting the runway for clues as to what could have caused the incident.

Kaliningrad's Khrabrovo airport after the accident and was set to reopen Wednesday at 0800 GMT.

Tucked between EU members Poland and Lithuania, the exclave of Kaliningrad is one of the 11 Russian cities that will host World Cup matches in 2018.